Witness protection: Villagers protest after murder witness is killed

Say police were informed about threats against him.

FAISALABAD:

Scores of Chak 216-RB Muhammadwala residents staged a protest demonstration here on Friday after a lumberdar, who they said had been a witness in a murder case, was shot dead.

The protest was started by the family of the deceased and was later joined in by other residents of the villager.

The protesters blocked the Makoana-Khurrarianwala Road. They criticised the police for not protecting the witness.

Shabbir Hussain, a relative of the deceased, said that Makoana police had registered a murder case against two villagers- Nazeer Ahmad and Muhammad Aslam- a few weeks ago.

He said the deceased, Akbar Athowal, was a witness to the crime. He had made a statement in the case to the police.



Hussian said the accused had initially tried to persuade Athowal to withdraw from the case, but when he refused, they threatened him with murder.

Hussian said Athowal had informed the police about the threats but the police had not acted on providing him protection or monitoring the accused, who he said, roamed freely.

Hussain said on Friday, Nazeer, Aslam and their unidentified accomplicehad stopped Athowal on his way to Faisalabad and shot him near Makoana police post. They fled leaving Athowal dead on the road.

The protesters said that the shooting happened so close to the police post that gunshot could be heard by the police, but no policeman turned up to intervene or investigate. They said had the police so wanted, they could have arrested the assailants on the spot.



Accusing the police of carelessness, the protesters demanded that the assailants be arrested as soon as possible. They warned of a siege of the police post if police showed further delay.

The Khurrarianwala station house officer visited the scene and asked the protesters to leave. He assured them that the assailants would be arrested soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2013.